FROM THE VAULT: Goosebumps Readalikes with Brian McAuley

This episode originally aired March of 2024, but I think spooky season is always a great time to talk about the effect of RL Stine's Goosebumps series and Brian is always a delight.  Shownotes:  https://booksinthefreezer.com/2024/03/05/episode-170-goosebumps-readalikes-with-brian-mcauley/ 

I was joined by author Sarah Langan to talk about her latest horror novel Trad Wife and horror books that are bringing the Trad Wife vibes.  Books Mentioned:  Trad Wife by Sarah Langan The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder The Devil and Mrs. Davenport by Paulette Kennedy Accumulation by Aimee Pokwatka The Bus on Thursday by Shirley Barret Out There by Kate Folk Lady of the House by Grace Reynolds House of Beth by Kerry Cullen Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke Comfort Me with Apples by Catherynne Valente   Consider joining our Patreon community!  

What if the new boy at school was being accused of your best friend's MURDER??  Kristen and I discuss the dated references and fashion in this snippet of The House at the End of Fear Street.  Listen to the full episode on Patreon

We're talking terror in the airwaves. Jocelyn is back on the pod to talk about radio horror this week. What is your favorite radio horror story?  Movies:  Pontypool Lords of Salem Vast of Night The Fog Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 Play Misty For Me Joyride Southbound Books:  Rules of the Road by CB Jones Kill Radio by Lauren Bolger A Lonely Broadcast: Book One by Kel Byron Ghost Radio by Leopoldo Gout Christine by Stephen King The Loop by Jeremy Robert Johnson Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs Desert Radio by Pamela M. Durgin Chilling Obsession:  Hellebore magazine The Drama (2026) Final Girl Song: Come to Daddy by Aphex Twin Become part of our Patreon community!

Summer isn't over yet, so I was joined by Brandon Baker (@baker_reads) to talk about aquatic horror! We're talking about what could be lurking in the water, and how sometimes that's none of our business.  Movies Mentioned:  Lake Placid Deep Blue Sea 47 Meters Down 47 Meters Down Uncaged Sea Fever Underwater Jaws The Lighthouse Pirhana Frankenfish Sharknado Ghost Ship Sphere The Creature From the Black Lagoon Books Mentioned:  Reliquary by Hannah Whitten Invasive Species by Ellery Adams Dark Water: Stories by Koji Suzuki (translated by Glynne Walley) The Deep by Nick Cutter Whalefall by Daniel Kraus The Low, Low Whistle by Laurel Hightower From Below by Darcy Coates Chlorine by Jade Song Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant The Devil and the Deep edited by Ellen Datlow Chilling Obsession:  Junk bugs S(p)lasher Flicks by Cullen Wade Final Girl Song:  Posing for Cars by Japanese Breakfast

We are so back! It's Fear Street Friday and as summer is winding down what a perfect time to get away from Shadyside and spend some time in a beach town with some camp friends. What could possibly go wrong? Bookseller extraordinaire Marguerite and I break down this ridiculously unhinged entry.  Warning - not in this clip, but this book does include a pretty gnarly animal death   Full episode available at Patreon

I was joined by Bram-Stoker Award winning author and returning guest, Clay McLeod Chapman to talk about his latest novel Devil Inside and Horrormance.  Movies Mentioned:  Lisa Frankenstein Warm Bodies The Mummy Heart Eyes Bones and All Your Monster Obsession Possession (1981) Books Mentioned:  Devil Inside by Clay McLeod Chapman Jenny Will Eat You Now by Gillian Daniels Spread Me by Sarah Gailley A Dowry of Blood by ST Gibson Eat the Ones You Love by Sarah Maria Griffin Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison Feast While You Can by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Canas Someone You Can Build A Nest In by John Wisell Queen of Teeth by Hailey Piper Headlights by CJ Leede Love Never Dies: Romance in Horror Movies by Emma Cole Join our Patreon Community Final Girl Song: You Should Not Be Doing That by Amyl and the Sniffers Chilling Obsession: 

Have we always been the caretakers? I am joined by reviewer George Dunn (@georgesreads) to talk about horror stories that are centered around the giving or receiving care either professionally or for a loved one.  Movies:  Relic The Taking of Deborah Logan Insidious  The Perfection The Haunting Would You Rather? Saint Maud The Skeleton Key I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House Misery Books:  A Veritable Household Pet by Viggy Parr Hampton The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer Frost Bite by Angela Sylvaine The Vessel by Adam Nevill The Only One Left by Riley Sager Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum The Shining by Stephen King Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy Nestlings by Nat Cassidy The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson My Darling Girl by Jennifer McMahon We Spread by Iain Reid Chilling Obsession: The Ervil LaBaron Cult Final Girl Playlist:  Join our Patreon Community!  

The 2026 Books in the Freezer Reading Challenge Get your tickets for Rachel Harrison's Kiss Slay Replay event at BottleRocket courtesy of White Whale Books (9/10) Patreon fun  Books Mentioned:  Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle The Red Sacrament by Sara Hinkley The Sea Hides Its Dead by Megan Bontrager Scary Movie Night by Miranda Smith Cross My Heart, I Hope You Die by Mallory Arnold The Flayed Man by Chloe Lautner Meat Bees by Dane Erbach The Quiet Resurrection of Sister Evelida Livingston by Nick Wallin Devil Inside by Clay McLeod Chapman Stay Buried by Jennifer McMahon Reliquary by Hannah Whitten The Calamities by Chuck Wendig The House That Eats the Dead by Max Doty The Minimalist by Kailee Pedersen These Walls Remember by Del Sandeen Lights! Camera! Frendo! by Adam Cesare  The Burn Line by Jonathan Sims Blacktail by Scott Hawkins Kiss Slay Replay by Rachel Harrison Pictures of You by Josh Malerman This Movie Doesn't End the Way We Want by Hailey Piper Mazywood by Tananarive Due Worry Box by Christopher Panatier Trad Wife by Sarah Langan Nightjars by Michael Wehunt The Ship of Death by Kyle Winkler The House Built on Alligator Bones by Sophia Honeycutt It Looks Like You in the Dark by Mathilda Zeller Quaint Folk by Bitter Carella Bruja's Nest by Brenda LaTorre What Feeds Below by Tatiana Schlotte-Bonne Amityville Awakens by Robert Ottone This B Just Won't Die by Tanya Pell Solace House by William MacLean Off the Reservation by Stephen Graham Jones What A Nightmare by Rebekah Faubion Public Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun There Used to Be People Here by Kennedy Cole  

CJ Leede is in the house and we are solving crimes! Not really, but we are talking about her latest novel Headlights and blend of horror and crime, weird (and romantic!) sex scenes, the importance of pop culture in stories, the romance of Americana, her upcoming work and more! We also talk about books that balance the tightrope of crime and horror, some with possibly vampires and some with definitely vampires Movies/Shows Mentioned:  True Detective (Season 1) Seven Hannibal Longlegs Red Dragon Zodiac Books Mentioned:  Headlights by CJ Leede The Gathering by CJ Tudor The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris All These Bodies by Kendare Blank The Grownup by Gillian Flynn Hydra (Six Stories #2) by Matt Weselowski The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins Mothersucker by Kim Boyhun (translated by Archana Madhavan) The Outsider by Stephen King All the Sinners Bleed by SA Cosby Broken Harbor (Dublin Murder Squad #4) by Tana French Chilling Obsessions: Hacks and Wuthering Heights Final Girl Song: Wolf Like Me